title: The state of mobile health in the developing world and the Middle East.
abstract: The rapid expansion and development of mobile technology have advanced an area called mobile health (mHealth), which is expected to improve healthcare delivery and increase the efficacy of healthcare services. This paper provides an overview of mHealthuse in the developing world with a specific focus on the Middle East. Different search engines and databases were used to search for Mobile Health (mHealth) literature on the developing world and the Middle East, in September 2012. The results show that there is a growing demand within the developing world and the Middle East for the use of mobile technologies that focus on information gathering and sharing, accessibility and reach, and public health. The future of mHealth in the developing world and the Middle East is also discussed.
authors.affiliation: Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal Hospital, Information Services Department, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Arwa F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Ababtain
authors.forename: Deana A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Almulhim
authors.forename: Mowafa S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Househ
mesh_terms: D003906:Developing Countries / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008490:Medical Informatics / Q000639:trends*; D008877:Middle East; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends*